Moving to Dayton--suggestions? (Beavercreek, Fairborn, Oregon: sale, apartments, rentals)

[calypsospots]

I'll be moving to the area this summer and teaching at Wright State University in the fall. Due to the economy, it's unclear whether I'll be there one year, two, or longer, so it seems smartest to rent rather than buy. I would prefer to rent a house than an apartment, but am not ruling out an apartment--but basically, I've been living in apartments for almost 10 years and want to have at least a bit of a yard again. So... I'm open to houses, duplexes, etc.

Everyone I've spoken to says I would not really like living in Fairborn and would be better off looking at the various historic districts and Yellow Springs. That sounds reasonable to me, but it has not been that easy (despite quite a bit of online searching) to find out about these areas. I'm not finding many house rentals online and usually it's hard to tell what sort of neighborhood they're in. Yellow Springs sounds nice but I suspect I'd rather visit than live there because otherwise I'll root and fail to explore Dayton itself.

I'm single with small pets, like to live near cafes and grocery stores, prefer to walk/bike/bus than drive, am used to living in fairly diverse neighborhoods. I'm originally from the Midwest but have lived in California's Bay Area, DC, Pittsburgh, and Prague as an adult, so I'm not afraid of cities but prefer those with some greenery. I'll be visiting Dayton the weekend of June 6 and would like to find a rental that starts around August 1.

So... please throw suggestions and thoughts my way, both about neighborhoods and about appealing cafes, restaurants, theaters, bars, etc. I have friends from about age 20 to over 90, if that's useful to know.

Thanks in advance for your ideas!

[JefferyT]

You are moving to a place that is very suburban and auto-oriented, with most shopping requiring a drive. Even places that are theoretically walkable (like inner city neighborhoods) really are not due to the dearth of convience shopping. Actually Yellow Springs is probably your best bet as it does have a grocery right in town as well as cafes and one theatre.

There are Dayton neighborhoods closer in that might be of interest. Oregon is one, which is eminently walkable to a movie theatre, restaurants, cafes, but no grocery. And its very tree lined. You might be able to rent a house or half a double (a duplex house). Other places nearby are South Park and St Annes Hill, but they don't really have things within walking distance; the things in the Oregon are within cycling distance of these places. Another choice is the Fairgrounds area between the University of Dayton and Miami Valley Hopsital, which has a little busy section on Brown Street.

Here are some general recommendations not tied to a neighborhood on the topics you mentioned:

The two movie theatres that show indy and import movies are the Neon (in downtown Dayton) and Little Art (in yellow springs). There is live theatre, too, with Human Race being the Equity company and the Theatre Guild being community theatre, and the people at the Dayton Playhouse, who do new play festivals every year.

Good restaurants are The Winds (in Yellow Springs), Meadowlark (spin-off from the Winds, near the Dayton Mall). There are some others...Cafe Boulevard and El Meson. El Meson is a lot of fun. Cest Tout in Oakwood is a good reasonable French place. Amber Rose in North Dayton is interesting on occasion. In a converted neighborhood corner store/butcher shop..you can get a literal taste of the citys eastern European heritage there as it serves specialities from Lithuania, Poland, and Hungary.

Bars. My favorites are the ones with music. Best is Canal Street Tavern. This place equals places Ive been to in California and Chicago (rough equivilant would be the old Palms in Davis). This is a real musicians room.

There is also J Alans downtown, which is a fun place. Los Lobos did an informal gig there after a show in Dayton. Oregon Express used to have a good Saturday night indy show. There are others, like Trolley Stop for more the reggae sound and a real good trad music jam on Wednsday night, etc. My favorite bar bar (no music) is the old Century downtown on Jefferson Street, with its gigantic ornate carved backbar...more for the happy hour time. It gets younger and more hipster later in the evening.

Cafes'...are weak. The one everyone goes to is on 5th and Brown in the Oregon. It has a nice outside sidewalk patio. There is another one further down the street, which doubles as a jazz bar at night. And Central Perk in Oakwood (more for their pastries) And thats about it (I think there are some in Yellow Springs). except for the various Starbucks.

Festivals. Lots of free festivals. Cityfolk is great. Usually around the 4th of july...people love to dance during these as they always bring in good dance bands of various sorts. And the free music festivals in Dave Hall Plaza are a lot of fun, low key "Saturday in the Park" affairs....beach blankets, lawn chairs, and people dancing on the grass to the music.

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On edit, I wouldnt rule out Fairborn totally as the older parts of town are sort of nice if you like older houses and regular city streets. The place does have a news stand downtown and a cafe' so its not totally dead. It just has a bad rep as it was traditionally more of a blue collar place. The older parts seem like theyd be interesting to live in.

Another place in the city thats interesting might be Belmont, which is a 1920s era development with a little business district and a lot of wooded streets with a mix of housing types..bungalows, foursquares, etc. Nearby Ohmer Park is neat , too. Its very wooded with hilly brick streets, but no shopping nearby.

[calypsospots]

Thanks for the very helpful, detailed reply. I don't actually have to be in walking distance of everything (currently I'm really only in walking distance of a cafe, as the grocery stores would really be a hike), but we can always hope. I have a car, it has just been nice living in areas where I mainly use it for trips and heavy objects rather than day-to-day life.

Other opinions?

[prfcttimeofday]

I'd echo Jeffrey's reccomendation, you're probably going to like the historic districts downtown. . .Oregon, St. Anne's, Southpark.

Yellow Spring is also a good option.

Maybe even Oakwood, as everything is walkable and there's a grocery, cafe and some nice resturants nestled in town that are easy to walk to from anywhere in Oakwood.

I'd say The Oregon District would be my first suggestion, but make sure to check out all the above.

Also, if you're looking for a place in a historic district--tgasper a poster on here is the one with all the hookups! She knows everything about Southpark and the historic areas downtown.

[Mark from Dayton]

I'd like to add South Park and McPherson Town. South Park is a large historic district, close to the Oregon District, University of Dayton/Brown St. district and downtown. What I like about South Park is that the neighborhood is tight; it's close to restaurants, coffee shops, and art galleries; and it has a variety of large and small homes, sale as well as rental. See Welcome to South Park Historic District for more info. McPherson Town is a tight-knit neighborhood close to the Dayton Art Institute and right across the river from downtown. See Welcome to McPherson Town - Dayton, Ohio's Most Neighborly Neighborhood! for more info. But there are so many others: Huffman Historic District, Dayton View, Wright-Dunbar, St. Anne's Hill, and the Oregon, which is on the "pricey" side, but still very nice.

Welcome to Dayton! You're home already!

[JefferyT]

Good call on McPherson Town. This directley across the river from downtown Dayton, and there is a grocery in the neighborhood, too (on Main Steet).

The only issue is that some of these places, being fairly small in area, might not have that much in the way of house rentals.

[calypsospots]

I suppose it will depend in part on what rentals are available in my price range when I'm looking... seems like there would be some very pleasant options. I like what I'm reading about bike trails and the possibilities for hiking not far away.

But where do people find out about rentals? Very little seems to be online other than large complexes (unless I just haven't stumbled upon the right sites)... do people just drive around looking for "for rent" signs or what? Also, are rentals usually advertised significantly in advance of vacancy or only right as they become available--I've found different cities have different norms on this.

Also, I see a real divide on this forum as to whether members think Dayton people are friendly or clique-ish. Obviously, different people will always have different experiences, but is it vital to make a special point of seeking out things to do where one will meet people with related interests? I'm getting a good welcome so far from my future colleagues, and friends here put me in touch with friends of theirs in Dayton who are being very welcoming as well, but I don't know how typical any of that is. I get along well with many kinds of people, but those I spend the most time with usually turn out to be connected to the arts (professionally or not) or the academic life. (Well--I'm including journalists and tech writers there.) I don't need to know swarms of people, but it would be nice to know some outside of work.

[tgasper]

Here's my theory about Daytonians (I've lived here all my life, 35 years in the City limits, the last 13 in Beavercreek out by WPAFB/WSU). We know many people tend to come here rather reluctantly, or even kicking and screaming. As a result, most of us go out of our way to welcome newcomers and show them the ropes. It's partly our midwest nature, partly that we want to prove Dayton "isn't the hellhole you thought it would be". As a result, newcomers quickly form connections and later, if the time comes, tend to leave the way they came - kicking & screaming.

I'm on the Wright State Foundation Board, and my husband earned his undergrad at WSU. We have met and become friends with some of the coolest people working there. The President, David Hopkins, especially is just an amazingly upbeat and positive person - WSU could not have found a better cheerleader and advocate for the University. His enthusiasm is very contagious. What will you be teaching?

Back to neighborhoods - my personal favorite is South Park because I grew up there and have been working there with a fellow WSU Foundation Board member to revitalize it the past 3 years. It is an amazing collection of passionate, dedicated and tenacious neighbors who love to socialize. There is a Kroger store within walking distance and a Walgreens. By far the best part of the neighborhood is the South Park Tavern which serves Pizza Factory pizza. Yum. They have 18 beers on tap as well. It's about a 10-15 minute drive to WSU straight out SR35. We'll be having a blues concert on June 13th, monthly PPD Parties (porch, patio & deck) and the 3rd Annual Jazz & Art Fest in September.

The way it works in South Park is all the quality rentals are found either on the South Park website or Craig's List. The rentals that have signs in the front yard typically are not going to be the best. However, between winning a national award last year as a neighborhood of the year, and our marketing efforts to WSU Med School, UD Faculty & Staff and anyone else who will listen, we're renting houses as fast as we can get them ready. Our goal was to sell them, but your situation is true of most - it's a risk to buy right now if you don't know how stable your job is.

So, websites: www.historicsouthpark.org or my personal favorite (mine, which was designed by a South Park neighbor who bought one of my homes) is www.fullcircledayton.com On the home page, you'll find a link to a story that was in the WSU Community magazine a couple of months ago.

The Oregon District is home to some of the best restaurants in town - Pacchia, Thai Nine, Coco's and Brown Street by UD has The Pine Club which is the best steak in the world.

[calypsospots]

Fortunately, there's no kicking and screaming here. I'm happy where I am, but I'm glad to have a job and glad that it's in the Midwest since I tend to feel at home there. It's aggravating to feel like I shouldn't buy a place, but... such is life.

I'll be teaching art history. I'm assuming I'll enjoy my time in Dayton since most indications suggest that.

[Mark from Dayton]

Fortunately, Dayton has one of the liveliest and diverse arts communities for a city of its size. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.